This site is community-supported. We may earn a commission (at no extra cost) when you buy through our links.
Cadmium Oranges Oil Paint Color Comparison and Reviews

Cadmium Oranges Oil Paint Color Comparison and Reviews

The Must-Have Color on Your Palette You Never Knew You Were Missing

Featured Paints

The Paint Color We Never Knew We Needed

A Chroma Boost in the Opaque Oranges

When painting with a limited palette, it seemed at first like we were saving money by mixing our own cadmium oranges without Cadmium Orange pigment, PO20. While we learned a lot about color mixing through the discipline of a 6-color-palette plus earth tones, and might recommend a strict limited palette for beginners, it took some time to realize that there was a little chroma boost that was missing. Bear in mind that for realistic painting, the chroma loss is more tolerable as many realistic subjects are muted.

However, if you want fiery red-orange, juicy middle orange, and mandarin yellow orange, that tube of PO20 is just the thing. An opaque orange with good lightfastness at a high chroma can be a rarity. Once we tried Cadmium Oranges, we wouldn’t want to paint without this arpeggio of beautiful citrus tones.

Orange paint swatches explore the differences between brands of Cadmium Orange. Three panels show orange color swatches ranging from yellow orange to red orange

The rainbow-range of Cadmium Oranges. For context, the featured panel is on the bottom of the image. The featured panel has some fairly yellow-leaning Cadmium Oranges.

Cadmium Oranges in Premium Brands

All were strong tinters and were chosen for their super high chroma. The Rublev and the Vasari are some of the loosest paints. Vasari is oil rich, while Rublev is almost liquid in consistency- a drop of the Rublev is super high powered, which is a fun quality for this pigment. Next in order for having great glide is the Schmincke Norma. RGH was a fascinating yellow orange. Williamsburg has a soft impasto and Old Holland has a stiffer impasto, as expected.

The Cadmium Oranges tested here range from established premium offerings- Old Holland, Vasari, Williamsburg to lesser known and yet very interesting paints from RGH and Rublev. Each hue was slightly different and there were big differences in handling.

Arrangement of painted swatches of oil paints in Cadmium Orange, PO20 on panel. These panels show the hues of different brands of oil paint with similar names

From Rublev to RGH these Cadmium Oranges Blaze with high chroma

Cadmium Oranges that Lean Yellow-Orange in Hue

Cadmium Oranges come in a wide variety of hues. These stretch toward yellow-orange (moving toward Cadmium Yellow Extra Deep).

Cadmium Orange's Debut on our Palettes

When We First Began to Notice Something Had Been Missing

It was actually through painting in gouache --that rather rare medium which shows pigment interaction so distinctively (it's weird, but true) that we first began to really notice Cadmium Orange was needed. We thought initially that a Cadmium Yellow Deep mixed with a Cadmium Red Light was sufficient for mixing high chroma oranges. However only when looking at our mix, a strangely dull tone, that reminded us of a guitar fret that is a bit off or a piano note that rings out of tune-- at first we were puzzled. The pigment quality was high, the brand was good, so what was wrong? It was only after realizing that mixing cads couldn't get us to the highest chromas in gouache that we began to see the same things in oils. So is it worth the extra cost?

You can certainly get by with a pared-down palette of reds and yellows. However if finding the brightest chromas for each paint matter to your painting practice, it can be helpful to explore a wide variety of cadmiums across brands. Each brand sources pigment from various places and chooses where to place the notes in their offering of cadmiums. It can be helpful to try lots of these to find the highest chroma paints at each hue.

Three panels show comparisons of Cadmium Orange in oil paint across brands

The featured panel is on the top left. We keyed the values a little too high to be consistent across panels, however the hue comparisons are here for you to compare across a wide variety of brands. The bottom left panel shows Cadmium Yellow Deep hues for comparison.

The Yellower Cadmium Oranges - Still Orange

These hues edge from middle orange toward marigold

Cadmium names can be very confusing, however the pigments sort themselves somewhat into categories. In another article we reviewed a grouping of cadmium oranges that lean red, and Rublev Cadmium Orange belongs to that group. We included it here for visual comparison so that the differences can be felt. Aside from the Rublev we have roughly two groupings shown here— a middle orange group and a yellower orange category.

The Yellower Cadmium Oranges

The RGH Cadmium Orange is notably yellower than the Schmincke Norma and the Williamsburg, though all three are in the yellower orange category. We aren't sure if the RGH one is always the same hue from batch to batch- we hope so because we fell in love with this smashing color. The RGH here was yellow-orange at a super high chroma.

Artist paint colors in orange and yellow displaying the variety of hues for the pigments PO20 and PY35 in oil paint. Two panels have swatches of paint from different brands.

The variety of Cadmium Orange and Cadmium Yellow Hues

Featured Cadmium Oranges that Lean Yellow-Orange in Hue

Cadmium Oranges come in a wide variety of hues. These stretch toward yellow-orange (moving toward Cadmium Yellow Extra Deep).

Middle Cadmium Oranges and Redder Cadmium Oranges

The Redder Oranges Stretch Toward Cadmium Red Light

A few colors presented themselves as in the middle of the two groups- the redder oranges and the yellow oranges. These are the middle oranges, which on our panel would be Old Holland Cadmium Yellow Orange and Vasari. The Rublev is redder still and is included for comparison.

Cadmium oranges and Cadmium Red Lights. Comparison of oil paints across brands

An array of Cadmium Oranges and a few Cadmium Red Lights with differences in hue temperature.

Featured Cadmium Oranges that a bit less yellow than the ones that lean yellow-orange. These are just the ones on the featured panel- there are a few more in other brands

Let's take a brief look at the consistency. More impasto paints would mostly be the Old Holland. Williamsburg is also impasto but it's a soft impasto. The RGH was quite soft and workable. Schmincke Norma, Vasari, and Natural Pigments are all more gliding and flowing.

Cadmium Oranges with a More Impasto Feel Right out of the Tube

The colors differed in handling. Williamsburg tends to have a softer impasto while Old Holland colors have a signature stiffness

Munsell Notes

High-Powered Chromatic Oranges

The chromas of these oranges far exceed the Munsell chips. They can be thought of in terms of red-oranges, middle oranges, and the neon tangerine by RGH.

Among these, the redder group hovers around a center closer to 1.25YR 6/14 (Rublev is redder than that), and the middle orange/yellower group centers around 2.5YR6/16. The RGH is harder to define visually with chips as it exceeds the Munsell gamut. The RGH could be a very light bright and chromatic 2.5YR or it may be closer to 5YR 7/14. The 5YR 7/16 is yellower than RGH. The RGH is oranger (a touch closer to red) and deeper than that yellow-orange chip.

Cadmium oranges from Rublev, Old Holland, Vasari, Schmincke Norma, Williamsburg, and RGH. Painted color chart of oil paints for comparison. Swatches of paint compare colors of Cadmium Orange across brands

An array of Cadmium Oranges that exceed Munsell chips

Cadmium Oranges that Vary in Hue

Cadmium Oranges come in a wide variety of hues and handling.

Looking for more Cadmium Oranges?

Find the single-pigment Cadmium Oranges (PO20) across brands

Cadmium Red Deep and Cadmium Red Medium Color Comparison and Review
Cadmium Red Deep and Cadmium Red Medium Color Comparison and Review
Deep and Brimming with High Chroma, Let's Compare Best-in-Class Cadmium Reds
Cadmium Red Mediums vs. Cadmium Red Lights- Premium Oil Paints
Cadmium Red Mediums vs. Cadmium Red Lights- Premium Oil Paints
World-Rocking Reds Worthy of a Matisse or Kandinsky
Warmest Cadmium Red Lights vs Cadmium Red Oranges Oil Paint
Warmest Cadmium Red Lights vs Cadmium Red Oranges Oil Paint
Where Cadmium Red Light Begins and Ends: a Spotlight on Some of the Warmest Cadmium Reds and the Reddest Cadmium Oranges
Cadmium Oranges Oil Paint Color Comparison and Reviews
Cadmium Oranges Oil Paint Color Comparison and Reviews
The Must-Have Color on Your Palette You Never Knew You Were Missing
Cadmium Yellow Deep Oil Paint Color Comparisons
Cadmium Yellow Deep Oil Paint Color Comparisons
Somewhere Between Tangerine and Sunshine, These Cadmium Yellow Deeps Light Up Any Palette
Cadmium Yellow Lights Artist Oil Color Comparison
Cadmium Yellow Lights Artist Oil Color Comparison
These Collectible Cadmium Yellow Lights Make Unique Contributions to the Color Spectrum
Cadmium Greens, a Comparison
Cadmium Greens, a Comparison
Cadmium Greens span several hues- which one is best for your next painting?
Phthalo Green: Beryl and Aquamarine Oil Paint Color Comparisons
Phthalo Green: Beryl and Aquamarine Oil Paint Color Comparisons
Rich with Mystery and Mystique, The Best Phthalo Blue Greens Do Yield Some Surprises
Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) Oil Paint Reviews
Phthalo Blue (Green Shade) Oil Paint Reviews
High Chroma Turquoise Here We Come! These Blazing Blues are Some of the World's Most Powerful Paints
Ultramarine Blue Oil Paint Comparison
Ultramarine Blue Oil Paint Comparison
From A Word Meaning Over the Sea, these Deep Blue Beauties are an Old-World Painter's Dream Come True
Phthalo Green Blue Shade PG7
Phthalo Green Blue Shade PG7
The essence of green, this is an elemental gem of the palette
Williamsburg Oil Paint Review
Williamsburg Oil Paint Review
With a Stunning Rainbow of Single-Pigment Paints, this Paintmaker Has Led the Way in Oil Paint Testing
Gamblin Artist Oils Review
Gamblin Artist Oils Review
Thick Impasto Paint and a White Paint for Every Occasion. Is Gamblin the Right Paint for You?
Limited Availability Pigments
Limited Availability Pigments
Discontinued Pigments Can Lead to Discontinued Paints: The Recently Lost Pigments and How the Paintlist Can Help
Mix Your Own YInMn Blue Hue, Part 1
Mix Your Own YInMn Blue Hue, Part 1
Mix an approximation of this elusive paint with our three simple recipes. These mixes will get you close with paints you may already have in your paintbox
Paint List Holiday Guide - 2023 - Oil Paints
Paint List Holiday Guide - 2023 - Oil Paints
It's the Holiday Season so we're taking a break from the studio to look at the best of what we see out there this year.
Unlocking the Palette with the Pigment List
Unlocking the Palette with the Pigment List
A painter's secret superpower
How to Use Paint List
How to Use Paint List
Find and Save Paints- Elevate Your Art
Pigment Spotlight: Pyrrole Red PR254
Pigment Spotlight: Pyrrole Red PR254
From Pastel Pinks to Fast Cars: A High-Performing Lightfast Red

Sign up for our newsletter

We value your privacy and won't share your email address.
Paint List Logo
This is an independent paint review site for artists that is powered by affiliate links. That means that we may make commissions on purchases that you make at no extra cost to you.
Disclaimer: This website does not make any warranties or guarantees about the completeness, reliability, and accuracy of this information. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website is strictly at your own risk. We will not be liable for any losses and/or damages in connection with the use of our website.